1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a method of forecasting of the number of critical parts that will be required to produce a line of products. A key feature of the invention is the exploding of purchased complete assemblies which allows a precise forecast of the content (components) within the assemblies. These content forecasts are provided to component vendors that provide these components to the assembly vendors.
2. Description of the Related Art
In today's high technology manufacturing environment, each product produced comprises hundreds if not thousands of individual components purchased from almost as many suppliers. In addition, it is very common for one component to be shared by a number of different products.
One constant problem faced by manufacturers is estimating the correct number of components to buy, especially considering that many components are shared between different machines and that each component may easily be substituted with different but similar components. For example, when manufacturing personal computers, it is common to utilize hard disks as storage devices. It is common to use the same hard disk in a variety of finished products. In addition, while one hard disk from a specific manufacturer may be preferred, other similar hard disks may be substituted without affecting the quality of the final product.
Another issue associated with correctly estimating the number of different components required to produce today's devices relates to the bargaining power a buyer may present depending upon the volume of products they desire to purchase. Generally, as a greater volume is purchased, the price per unit decreases. Therefore, it is important for organizations to identify situations where they can purchase items in high volume so as to reduce their per unit cost.
A corporate procurement department may purchase millions of assembly and component parts each year to support it's manufacturing businesses. Based on this high volume activity, the corporation can force much leverage to gain price breaks. In order to gain these price breaks, the company must be able to accurately forecast its intentions to buy parts. The higher the volume, the better the price break.
Therefore, there is a need for an automated system that allows a manufacturer the ability to purchase only the components that are required, and to take advantage of volume buying whenever possible. The invention below describes such a system that is user friendly and effective.